Israeli restaurateur goes viral with online meltdown
Unflattering appearance on Kitchen Nightmares sends Samy Bouzaglo into an expletive-laden Facebook fury.
By SARA MILLERsamy and amy bouzaglo370(photo credit: Screenshot)
An explosive American TV appearance by an Israeli expat and his wife, and their subsequent aggressive online reaction, have gone viral and made headlines in the US news.Samy and Amy Bouzaglo let rip at critics in a spectacularly public fashion after they and their restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona, were panned by Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares reality show.Ramsay had few good words to say about the menu at Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro, sending back dish after dish prepared by head chef Amy.The program, which aired on May 10, showed Samy threatening and swearing at customers, and even telling Ramsay that, “I am the gangster, not you.”The multiple Michelin star-winning chef ultimately walked out of the restaurant – the first time he has done so in the six seasons of the show, which aims to help turn around failing eateries.But the real storm was yet to come, as the restaurant’s Facebook page soon became a viral sensation, with the number of subscribers skyrocketing, and irate and expletive-laden posts by the Bouzaglos receiving thousands of shares.Many of the abusive comments that appeared on the page were subsequently removed, and the Bouzaglos wrote on Facebook that they had been hacked and were consulting with the FBI.“To all of the Yelpers and Reddits: Bring it on,” read one Facebook post, thought to be penned by Samy Bouzaglo and later take down, referencing the popular restaurant review site and online message board, where many negative comments were posted about the restaurant.“Come to Arizona. You are weaker than my wife, and weaker than me. Come to my business. Say it to my face, man to man. My wife is a jewel in the desert. You are just trash.”
In another post, Samy identifies himself as the author, and warns that he is “keeping note of all names here” and will be seeking legal recourse.Another comment, thought to have been posted by Amy Bouzaglo, read: “WE ARE NOT FREAKING OUT, WE DO NOT CARE ABOUT A ‘WITCH HUNT.’ I AM NOT A WITCH. I AM GODS [sic] CHILD. P**S OFF ALL OF YOU. F*** REDDITS, F*** YELP AND F*** ALL OF YOU. BRING IT. WE WILL FIGHT BACK.”Few of the hundreds of comments that the posts received were complimentary.One commenter, who signed his post “An Embarrassed Jew,” urged Samy “the Middle Eastern rug dealer” to go back to Israel, and warned that he had contacted the IRS over the restaurant’s policy of keeping the tips given to the wait staff by customers.
